Rhythm Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RYTM) Earns Buy Rating from Needham & Company LLC

Needham & Company LLC restated their buy rating on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RYTM) in a report released on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $50.00 target price on the stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals from $42.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals from $48.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $29.00 to $55.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 19th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Buy and an average target price of $47.40.

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of RYTM opened at $40.33 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $2.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.60 and a beta of 1.90. Rhythm Pharmaceuticals has a fifty-two week low of $15.50 and a fifty-two week high of $52.57. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $43.66 and a 200-day moving average price of $37.76.

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RYTM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 22nd. The company reported ($0.70) earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.70). The firm had revenue of $24.23 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.38 million. Rhythm Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 238.50% and a negative return on equity of 96.02%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 175.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.75) EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Rhythm Pharmaceuticals will post -4.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Hunter C. Smith sold 15,515 shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.22, for a total value of $608,498.30. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 97,939 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,841,167.58. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Rhythm Pharmaceuticals news, CFO Hunter C. Smith sold 15,515 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.22, for a total transaction of $608,498.30. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 97,939 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,841,167.58. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Hunter C. Smith sold 1,209 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.38, for a total transaction of $62,118.42. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 80,413 shares in the company, valued at $4,131,619.94. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 172,069 shares of company stock valued at $7,626,355 over the last three months. 4.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Barclays PLC increased its position in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 85.3% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 241,261 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,531,000 after purchasing an additional 111,033 shares during the period. Silverarc Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 124.3% during the 3rd quarter. Silverarc Capital Management LLC now owns 260,537 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,973,000 after buying an additional 144,369 shares in the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. bought a new stake in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,004,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 9.8% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 384,748 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,820,000 after buying an additional 34,189 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at $460,000.

About Rhythm Pharmaceuticals

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Inc, a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the rare neuroendocrine diseases. The company's lead product candidate is IMCIVREE (setmelanotide), a rare melanocortin-4 receptor for the treatment of pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC), proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 1, leptin receptor (LEPR) deficiency obesity, and Bardet-Biedl and Alström syndrome.